Systems Simplified

Jennifer Lillie is an Oregon-based realtor and the Founder of We Got The Keys Real Estate. She started her career in event planning before moving to the real estate industry. Jennifer is passionate about giving her clients the best experience possible and takes the time to establish systems for every step of a real estate transaction, from staging the house to closing the sale. She also hosts big client appreciation parties where she gets the chance to reconnect with past clients and enjoy time with friends and family. In this episode: Real estate is a billion-dollar industry. And, similar to other entrepreneurs who deal with high-value transactions, realtors have to pay close attention to the relationships they build with clients. To grow her real estate company, Jennifer Lillie uses checklists and systems to stay focused and provide value to her clients. Her systems help her find clients that are a good fit, whether they are buying or selling property. This systematized strategy makes it possible for her to sell 40 to 50 homes a year. So, what is Jennifer's advice to other entrepreneurs that want to achieve the same success? In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Jennifer Lillie, a premier Oregon-based realtor, about how she uses checklists and systems to grow her real estate business. Jennifer shares her system for staging a house, talks about using social media to drive sales, and discusses the importance of consistency. Stay tuned.

Cesar Quintero is a serial entrepreneur, Certified EOS Implementer, and the Founder of The Profit Recipe. The Profit Recipe is a coaching firm that helps entrepreneurs work on their business instead of in their business. As an entrepreneur since the age of 24, Cesar has expertise in what works in business and the tools entrepreneurs need to succeed. He worked as a project manager at Procter & Gamble in Venezuela before moving to the US to start his first business. In this episode: Do you work in your business or on your business? Can your company survive and thrive without you? How can you build a business by design? According to Cesar Quintero, building a business by design means decentralizing or detaching a founder from his or her company. In other words, it means building a business that is not solely dependent on you, the entrepreneur. This involves finding the right operating system to help manage the company and ensure consistency and predictability in its operations. The result: long-term success for the business and more freedom for the founder. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Cesar Quintero, the Founder of The Profit Recipe, about how he helps entrepreneurs create a life by design using operating systems. Cesar discusses the five stages of the E-Volution Flywheel, talks about building a business by design, and explains the importance of empowering entrepreneurs. Stay tuned.

Ryan Buchanan is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thesis, a digital marketing agency based in Portland, Oregon. Ryan is an experienced entrepreneur who grew an early email marketing agency into a full digital agency focused on strategic planning and creative execution. He is also the Co-founder of two nonprofits, SINE (Survival Is Not Enough) and Emerging Leaders PDX. Recently, Ryan won EY's Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year award. In this episode: Are you a systems-oriented leader? Or, do you find it time-consuming to document your company's processes and procedures? In order to create and grow a successful business, you need to have the right mindset, the right skills, and the right systems. If you struggle with documenting systems and processes, delegating the work to a member of your team who is up to the task can help save you a lot of frustration and setbacks. And, with this approach, you can free up more space to follow your strengths and passions as an entrepreneur. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Ryan Buchanan, the Founder and CEO of Thesis, about visionary leadership and how he gives back to the business community. Ryan explains how he handles delegation, the inspiration behind his nonprofits, and his tips for navigating the challenges of growing an agency. Stay tuned.

Verne Harnish is the Founder and CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company with over 200 partners on six continents. He is also the Founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), which has over 16,000 members worldwide. Verne is the author of multiple books, including the best-seller Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, and Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). His latest book is Scaling Up Compensation. In this episode: What type of compensation plan do you have in place for your business? Is it scalable? How efficient is it in ensuring fairness and gratification among your employees? The right compensation plan can be an extremely powerful tool for attracting and retaining the best employees for any organization. It shows employees that they are valued, which helps improve their productivity — and ultimately results in better services and products for customers. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Verne Harnish is interviewed by co-hosts Adi Klevit, John Corcoran, Dr. Jeremy Weisz, Elise Holtzman, and Joshua Chin about building and scaling employee compensation plans. Verne talks about the role compensation plays in attracting and hiring employees, the common mistakes leaders make with compensation, and how he incorporates gamification in compensation plans. Stay tuned.

Robin Schuckmann is the Executive Director of BNI Oregon and SW Washington. As the world's largest business referral network, BNI helps members grow their businesses through sales referrals, business training, peer learning, and networking opportunities. In her role, Robin empowers and leads directors and ambassadors to serve over 1,000 members in 59 chapters. She also teaches leaders how to build relationships with the right people so they can enhance and grow their businesses. In this episode: Do you have an efficient system for building your business network? Have you ever thought about systematizing your referral marketing process? Business networks and referrals are key drivers for business growth — and that's why every business owner should have a process for networking efficiently. Finding and joining a network is the first step, but leaders also have to know how to strategically position themselves for getting referrals. As the head of BNI Oregon and SW Washington, Robin Schuckmann knows how valuable it is to have a structured system for building a network. Today, she's here to share her top tips for systematizing your networking and referral marketing. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit is joined by Robin Schuckmann, the Executive Director of BNI Oregon and SW Washington, to talk about creating a workable system for networking and generating referrals. Robin discusses how to find the best business network, the benefits of creating a structured referral system, and her tips for effective time management. Stay tuned.

Jonathan Freeman is the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer of Centura Wealth Advisory, a fast-growing wealth management firm based in San Diego, California. Throughout his career, Jonathan has held leadership positions for companies in a variety of industries, including technology, professional services, consulting practices, real estate, and healthcare. His passion is to help companies grow and succeed in terms of people, processes, and culture. In this episode: Has your company been experiencing rapid growth? Have you been facing some challenges while navigating that growth? If so, how do you ensure that your company continues scaling successfully as it grows? Some of the major challenges companies face due to high growth include maintaining the culture, managing employees, and hiring effectively. While scaling Centura Wealth Advisory, Jonathan Freeman has focused on building dynamic systems and encouraging employees to document their routine processes. This has made the company's operations more efficient, seamless, and high-quality. It has also made it easier to onboard new employees as the company grows — all while maintaining a great team and culture. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Jonathan Freeman, the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer of Centura Wealth Advisory, about his tips for building systems and processes to manage accelerated growth. Jonathan explains how a company's culture plays a key role in implementing processes, talks about the benefits of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), and explains why leaders should focus on creating a vision. Stay tuned.

Keith Gillette is the Founder and CEO of TaskTrain, a process management platform. TaskTrain designs and develops simple workflow solutions to enable teams to consistently and efficiently achieve excellence. Keith is also the CIO of GilletTEK and a Senior Collaborator at Educational Collaborators. He has a background in IT operations management and previously led IT departments in the education sector. In this episode: Have you been experiencing challenges while documenting your company's processes and procedures? Do you find the work daunting or overwhelming? When done right, documented processes and procedures can save you, your team, and your company a lot of time and resources. They are instrumental in helping you avoid inconsistencies and mistakes and increase your efficiency. They are also incredibly beneficial when onboarding new employees and can promote business continuity when team members join or leave your organization. So, how can you make the task of documenting these important processes and procedures a little easier? Keith Gillette, the Founder and CEO of TaskTrain, joins Adi Klevit in this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast to talk about systematizing your processes and procedures. Keith discusses the benefits of using a standard format for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), shares his tips for making documentation less daunting, and breaks down some of TaskTrain's top features. Stay tuned.

Chris Martin is the Owner and President of Mt. Hood Pro Painting, a Portland-based residential and commercial painting company. Mt. Hood Pro Painting delivers over 15 years of professional painting experience to its wide range of clients. Chris currently runs the business with his wife, Alexandra Martin. In this episode: As a business owner, do you have systems in place to guide you in hiring and training new employees? Do you have a process for evaluating which applicants are the best fit for your team? While Chris Martin built his painting business, he knew that he needed efficient systems for hiring new painters and improving communication within and outside of his company. With some help, he created and documented the systems he needed to better manage and grow his business. Now, his team has the foundation to keep growing and succeeding. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit is joined by Chris Martin, the Owner of Mt. Hood Pro Painting, to talk about the systems he and Adi implemented to transform his painting company. Chris explains how hiring a virtual receptionist improved his business, shares the benefits of having well-documented systems, and reveals his top tips for staying motivated as a business owner. Stay tuned.

David Baer is the Creative Partner and Co-owner of The Prepared Group, a strategy-first marketing consultancy. He is a veteran direct response marketer who started his career at the dawn of email marketing selling classical music subscriptions online. Since then, David has served as the marketing director for three wine importers, the founder of a Facebook advertising agency, and a trusted marketing consultant for more than 20 wineries. He is also the author of several books, including Small Business Email Marketing (Part One): How Small Businesses Can Grow Their Lists And Increase Profits With Smart Email Strategies. In this episode: Did you know that email marketing is still one of the best marketing methods for generating sales? That's because it can help a business build a community of loyal customers, increase upsells and cross-sells, and so much more. According to David Baer, email marketing is so effective because it's an intimate way for businesses to communicate with their prospects and customers. As he says, it allows businesses to create personalized messages that spark one-on-one conversations with consumers. What's more, email marketing has continued to grow over the years as the number of people who regularly use their email accounts has increased. This has created unmatched opportunities for brands to market and promote their businesses more efficiently and successfully. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews David Baer, the Creative Partner and Co-owner of The Prepared Group, about his tips for setting up a simple email marketing system. David also explains how to use email segmentation, shares strategies for creating high-converting email newsletters, and talks about building short-term, long-term, and evergreen email sequences. Stay tuned.

Carla Titus is the Founder of Wealth & Worth Within, where she offers finance business consulting to help start-ups and midsize businesses improve their profitability. Carla is a financial expert and an advocate for women in business. Through her coaching, she strives to close the confidence and wage gap for women. In addition to her role at Wealth & Worth Within, Carla is the ​​Sales & Marketing Senior Finance Manager at Intel Corporation. She has over 10 years of corporate financial planning, analysis, and strategy experience and is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and businesses improve their financial outlook. In this episode: Have you heard the term CFO but don't really understand what it means? You might take a guess and say it's close to a CEO. While you're on the right track, these two leadership positions each play a different but essential role for a business. So, how can a CFO transform your company? Whether you have a small business or a large successful company, a CFO can help you get your finances in order so that you can more effectively plan for the future. As an on-demand CFO and financial expert, Carla Titus gives entrepreneurs and business owners advice on how to overcome their financial challenges. With her expertise, your company can become and stay successful. In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit sits down with Carla Titus, the Founder of Wealth & Worth Within, to discuss the ins and outs of the term CFO. Carla also discusses how she uses financial coaching to help women entrepreneurs make smart business decisions, the various ways CFOs bring balance to a company, and her tips for developing a strategy that prevents burnout and financial troubles.